BAY RADIO’S SUNDAY BRUNCH FOOD/WINE MARRIAGE!

Hidago de Pollo

A superb rich tapa that calls for a red wine with some oak ageing to lend sturdiness to match the food but also with some elegance. Chicken livers go well with Tempranillo based wines. As many will know this variety is also known as Tinta Fina in DO Ribera del Duero and here Bodegas Federico makes a range of wines called Avenencia using this noble variety.

The Avenencia Roble 2006 comes in a 50 cl bottle – and there’s a story behind this that will encourage those of us who drive to a restaurant and yet want to have some quality wine with a meal, rather than the oft served dross house wine, and still be ok to drive home.

Allegedly this 50 cl bottle of wine at 13% abv, if drunk between two people over a two hour dinner will not take the diners over the limit! Well maybe that’s the case but that aside it’s a lovely wine with 6 months ageing in French oak. Bright fruit, red and dark, underpined with subtle oak to add depth and complexity – perfect with the chicken livers!

The two Avenencia wines from Bodegas Federico - perfect for this week's recipes!

Magret of Pork

Pork can be happy with both white and red wine, though red would be most people’s choice, I think. However we have to consider here the subtle influence of the tomato in the overall taste of the dish.

This leaves us with red as a possibility still, but I’ve gone for a white wine which will be helped by the tomato. Sauvignon Blanc would be a good match – if we weren’t lucky enough to be in Spain, where DO Rueda’s indigenous Verdejo has its home.

Verdejo adds an extra dimension to the slightly Sauvignon characteristics that this top variety also has. Verdego has that grassy, gooseberry fruit common in Sauvignon but also some asparagus and green pepper notes, an altogether vegetal influence, which will enhance the overall taste of the dish.

From the same Bodegas Federico, but this time in DO Rueda, I’ve gone for the 2009 Verdjo. It has all of the above plus a good, quite rich finish. I can’t wait to taste their 2010 which I guess will be available soon!